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Ai
Ai works as a travelling acupuncturist and healer around the Three Kingdoms. Although his presence is typically looked down upon in the Central Kingdom, he can occasionally be found there if he requires to meet someone in those grounds. He does not explicitly work within the Western Kingdom's boundaries, due to their stance on not just mancy, but on his race as well. History New Shores Ai's parents were refugees from Southern Keleva that came to settle in the Eastern Kingdom. He grew up largely estranged from the typical arts of his tribe, due to the fact that the Eastern Kingdom was not largely comprised of orcs when he was born. His childhood was a syncretic mixture of his family's tradition of Utexism and the new culture of the Eastern Kingdom. His parents pressured him into taking up the mantle of Shaman, even though the tribe that they were a part of had most likely left them to be forgotten. He could not reconcile the teachings of the East with his race's propensity for fire and death. He could only wish for longevity, for life, for growth. It was then that he decided to take up the mantle of Shaman as a Carnomancer, unheard of in his family before. Previous tribesmen had studied mancies outside of the speciality but nobody had dared study a mancy so antithetical to the traditions of their tribe. Gaining the Art At the age of 19, Ai came to an apprenticeship under a local assembly of Carnomancers. His mentor came from the Western Kingdom after another period of unrest against mancers forced him into exile. He studied voraciously under his mentor, passing around the specialities of his assembly. The assembly had a number of specialists, even though it was dominated by Carnomancers. He learnt about brewing potions, although he never studied the art in that much depth. He considered a cursory knowledge to be more than sufficient. It was here that he first became acquainted with the idea of rituals and instruments, something that he would make a dedication to later on in his career. Collapsing the Cave After an intense period of study, Ai came to the power of Carnomancy at the age of 21, fairly young for a Carnomancer. Some people put this down to the natural endurance of Orcs, although others have pointed out how envious that sounds. Perhaps it was to his early awakening that stunted his growth. Ai could not grasp the greater arts of Carnomancy, such as the creation of a Flesh Golem. It appeared that a creation of such a golem was beyond him. Instead, Ai gained an unusual propensity for the healing arts, capable of mimicking certain effects of Sterkin's Draught at an untypical time in his career. Ai initially snubbed this, working as a mortician with a Necromancer in Central. He desperately wished to grasp the understanding of the flesh that people in his assembly had managed to gain so easily. Several years passed, and no greater understanding was gained. Ai seemed to warp the flesh fine, yet such a golem seemed to be impossible for his Vitor. Having gained a lesson in humility, Ai dedicated himself to the healing arts. It was with this that he practised for thirty years, becoming a nomad and infamously sleeping wherever there was shelter. Ai seeks the Void and the Heavens, two places that he thinks may have the answer to his stunted condition. Mancy Ai has practised Carnomancy for almost three decades. Whilst he is unable to perform the signature magic of his mancy, the Flesh Golem, his capacity for healing and anatomy is exceptional. Some have rumoured of his ability to regenerate small parts of the body, although this remains unconfirmed by Ai himself. Ai is a major proponent of ritual theory, the idea being that using tools, items and practices related to the mancy and the Heavens can increase the potency of magic and save vitor. He keeps with him acupuncture needles and a variety of seemingly useless objects for this reason.